Brief Intro:
Since you're reading this, I'm going to assume you are either wondering what in the world I'm talking about; interested in doing this yourself; or know exactly how to do stuff like this and are just going to read it anyway.

(for those of you who don't know, a web server is what hosts each individual website you visit on the internet, and that's in simple terms )

Basically my whole point in doing this is to help out those who have always wanted to host their own website. Now don't go around thinking you'll be able to host some mega-site, because to be honest, while computer may be able to handle it, your ISP may not like it so much; so plan on a relatively small scale, or check with your ISP first; of course, you'll need a dedicated server for that (mega-site) though (or two or three).

Step 1:
Assuming you have downloaded the Uniform Server Package as already directed, go ahead and run the executable.

Step 2:
Change the 'Extract to:' path to 'C:\' (assuming 'C' is your drive letter). You can change the folder name and path if you like;however, for best compatibility, I'd recommend that the path has no spaces in it. The extraction process will extract everything to a new folder name 'UniServer', so in the end, the folder path is actually 'C:\UniServer'. IMAGE

Step 3:
Pretty easy, just click the 'Extract' button to extract the contents to the predefined folder. IMAGE

Step 4:
Navigate windows explorer to the 'C:\UniServer' folder and run the 'Run_pre_check.exe' file. You should get a window like this: IMAGE

If you don't, then that means another program is using the required ports and your web server will not function properly. If you have Skype or a similar program that utilizes port 80, then you'll need to close it out while running the web server. If you absolutely must have both running/working at once (skype and the web server), then you'll need to change your server ports (or your other app's ports).

Step 5:
If your ports are clear, and you're ready to move on, let's get that server going. Just double-click the 'Start.exe' file, and you'll get a window like this: IMAGE

Click 'OK' and then find the icon on your taskbar that looks like this: IMAGE

Your web browser should now open up to the default file in your web directory. IMAGE

Step 6:
Drop your website files in the 'C:\UniServer\www' folder and refresh your webpage or re-open it by going to 'http://localhost'. If you see your website or test files, then congratulations! Your web server is now up and running! =D IMAGE

Note:
This is the first part to this guide. I will be posting the rest (how to setup your server for external access, along with any other related material) in the next post.